Take a 7-minute ride on Navy Pier’s most visible attraction, the 150 foot-high Ferris wheel. Modeled after the very first Ferris wheel, which was built for Chicago’s 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, the Navy Pier Ferris wheel provides unparalleled views of the Chicago skyline and lakefront. The Pier’s Ferris wheel has 40 gondolas, each seating up to 6 passengers. In the evening, the Ferris wheel’s 40 spokes, spanning a diameter of 140 feet, are illuminated by thousands of sparkling lights.